The best time to re-pot Japanese Maples is mid spring time. The
idea is to re-pot before they break into leaf. A good time is late March
in your area.
It's best to leave the repot to that time because Japanese Maples
are delicate trees when grown in pots. Make sure the plant was
watered well in the previous couple of weeks.

The "soil" you need is half John Innes Number 3
and half ericaceous compost. Just ask
at any garden centre or nursery and they will know what you mean.
Japanese Maples dislike alkaline soil and produce the best leaf
colour in a slightly acid soil.

It's essential to put some rubble or stones at the bottom of
the pot to ensure good drainage, especially in the winter.
Nothing will damage an acer quicker than waterlogging.

The new pot should be 5cm (2ins) or so larger than the
old pot.

Tip the pot sideways taking care not to damage
the leaves. Gently pull the maple from the pot using the base of the
main stem as near to the soil as possible. Place a layer of soil over
the rubble in the new pot and place the maple in the new pot. The aim
is to keep the top of the soil at the same level as it was before. So
adjust the amount of soil in the bottom of the new pot to do that.

Fill around the edges with the new soil and gently firm it in.
Water well.

Name: jim@GardenAction E-mail: PrivateDate posted: November 02, 2011 - 02:06 pm Message: Seems like autumnal leaf loss to me. Small buds should be next spring's new growth. Water occasionally and see what happens in the spring.

Name: Nina E-mail: PrivateDate posted: November 02, 2011 - 10:55 am Message: I have bought Acer Palmatum sometime in early summer, it was already in the pot, and placed on the balcony. leaves are drying up and falling off, only the very top of the stem There are tiny buds on the other branches, but for a while nothing is coming up. Now it is becoming cold and windy, not sure what to do, is it normal for this time of the year? is there any food I can feed it with?

Thank you

Name: jim@GardenAction E-mail: PrivateDate posted: October 23, 2011 - 04:50 am Message: Hello SallyAcers are very tough but they do respond that way to drought. Was it watered enough?

Name: sally ridley E-mail: PrivateDate posted: October 21, 2011 - 02:28 pm Message: I bought and re-potted my acer palmatum early summer.it is on north facing patio & was happy for a while. Then ALL the leaves shrivelled and dropped off. There are tiny buds but nothing re-grew. some branch ends have also withered. Why has this happened and what could i do?

Name: Kim K E-mail: kkent61@yahoo.com Date posted: September 17, 2011 - 06:09 pm Message: I have leaves turning brown,researched that found out the problem. Now I'm worried that I have trimmed the burnt leaves off I'm worried that I may have damaged the beautiful trees. How long will it take for the other leaves to grow back even though there are new leaves coming out on the stalk now? They are in containers and a little afraid to transplant them with winter coming around the corner!

Name: Amanda Wright E-mail: PrivateDate posted: October 01, 2010 - 03:50 am Message: All the leaves are falling off my Acer palmatum Viride standard. Its in a pot and was planted end of august is there anything i can do?

Name: Rich Jackson E-mail: PrivateDate posted: August 24, 2010 - 09:53 am Message: For permanent planting in a large pot fot a tree that nornally would get to 10", How large of a pot do I need. (height, width)thanks

Name: Elaine E-mail: PrivateDate posted: August 22, 2010 - 08:52 pm Message: I purchased 4JM for our south facing deck. The leaves are curled on two tress, & fallen off the other trees. Will the trees recover if I move them to partial shade & change the soil?

Name: Elaine E-mail: PrivateDate posted: August 22, 2010 - 08:51 pm Message: I purchased 4JM for our south facing deck. The leaves are curled on two tress, & fallen off the other trees. Will the trees recover if I move them to partial shade & change the soil?